Definition
The LSA Code was adopted by IMO's Maritime Safety Committee on 4 June 1996 (resolution MSC.48(66)) and made mandatory under SOLAS chapter III from 1 July 1998. Its chapters cover general requirements, personal life-saving appliances (lifebuoys, lifejackets, immersion and anti-exposure suits, thermal protective aids), visual signals (rocket parachute flares, hand flares, buoyant smoke signals), survival craft, rescue boats, launching and embarkation appliances, and other items such as line-throwing appliances and alarms.[1]
The code has been amended many times since 1996, so the standard that applies to a ship depends on her build date and the item — new lifejackets, for example, must meet the current text. SOLAS requires the appliances to be approved by the flag administration; in Europe that approval is the MED wheel mark.[1]
On a requisition, specify the approval wanted (wheel mark, USCG or the flag's), the SOLAS/LSA reference printed on the item, and for pyrotechnics the expiry date on delivery — a flare delivered with months left is a reorder waiting to happen.
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Sources
- [1] IMO — Resolution MSC.48(66): International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code (PDF) — https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.48(66).pdf
A working definition for buyers, not legal advice — the contract, the convention text and your club or class have the last word.